Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006 | 7:08 a.m.
A former Clark County School Board member who met this week with colleagues of New York educator Eric Nadelstern said Tuesday that Nadelstern should become the county's next school superintendent.
Jeffrey Burr, a Las Vegas estate planning lawyer and former president of the School Board during his 1992-96 term, said he had a favorable opinion of Nadelstern before spending Monday in New York City.
That opinion was reinforced after Burr participated in meetings with New York City Education Department administrators and with the educators of two high schools with ties to Nadelstern.
"He's a fearless innovator who also seeks consensus, but is not afraid to propose and champion new ideas," Burr said. "He's willing to buck the status quo to come up with new ideas to help kids."
Burr also praised Walt Rulffes, the other superintendent finalist who became the School District's interim superintendent in July after serving as its chief financial officer.
"I highly respect him," Burr said of Rulffes. "He's business-oriented. He's done an admirable job and he's worthy of the superintendent's position. That's what makes this a hard choice."
But Burr said he believes that Nadelstern, chief academic officer for new schools in New York City's Education Department, brings more to the table.
Nadelstern has the kinds of innovative ideas that would lead the Nevada Legislature and local business community to support increased financing for public schools, Burr said.
"He is more likely to be willing to go against the grain and do something that is different, that might be hard for someone who is already in the Clark County school system to do, to make our system better," Burr said of Nadelstern.
"Some of the things they're doing in New York City we're already doing here, like magnet schools. So it's not like we have to fix every part of the district. But where we are having struggles, such as with high school graduation rates and dropouts, that's where I think the changes he has made in New York City will help in Las Vegas."
Burr was invited to New York by the Council for a Better Nevada, a group of Nevada business leaders. Clark County School Board members met with many of the same officials as part of a fact-finding mission in advance of their vote for superintendent.
"I was impressed with everyone's opinion of him as a visionary and one who takes risks to make substantial changes that are better for kids," Burr said. "Mr. Nadelstern is a man who has high expectations and expects results from those who work with him. If you are a public employee, sometimes that could be a negative because you don't want someone to come in and upset the apple cart.
"At times I got the sense they were downplaying his role because of their desire to keep him in New York City."
Burr said he was impressed with several of Nadelstern's ideas in New York that have resulted in giving more budget and curriculum control to principals and teachers. In exchange, the schools agree to meet higher performance standards.
Under another of his plans, an existing school was split into smaller schools, producing smaller student bodies and raising graduation rates.
"Being in New York strengthened my opinion of him," Burr said. It showed him "how innovative he has been in a large school system, and how much courage he has had in making substantial changes to standard education."
Steve Kanigher can be reached at 259-4075 or at [email protected].
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